Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

2 Answers

Flight Instructor Renewal Process

Asked by: 3445 views FAA Regulations, Flight Instructor, General Aviation

As a upcoming CFI, I need to know after the first two years of instructing, the CFI must complete a FIRC to renew his/her CFI certificate and continue teaching.

At this point should I also complete a BFR under CFR part 61, or is that already accomplished through completion of a FIRC?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

2 Answers



  1. Boiler on Feb 08, 2014

    The FIRC is not the only method to renew your CFI but if you accomplish a FIRC, 61.56 (f) applies. 61.56(f) reads:
    A person who holds a flight instructor certificate and who has, within the period specified in paragraph (c) of this section, satisfactorily completed a renewal of a flight instructor certificate under the provisions in 61.197 need not accomplish the one hour of ground training specified in paragraph (a) of this section.

    Based on that, yes you still need a flight review. You do not however need to do the one hour of ground instruction. If you are getting your CFI I highly recommend digging into that big blue flight instructor Bible (the FAR AIM) and get used to looking this kind of thing up.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Mark Kolber on Feb 08, 2014

    Shane, think for a moment:

    Why would an FIRC, which is a ground course, satisfy the “flight” part of a flight review requirement?

    The other point Boiler made is spot on – the FIRC is only one of the ways for a CFI to renew his or her certificate. As a upcoming CFI, I’ll leave it to you to read it.

    +2 Votes Thumb up 2 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.